Systems and methods for operating multiple client printing systems

ABSTRACT

A method for operating multiple client printing systems is described. The method includes creating an administration account. The method also includes instantiating a printing manager instance for each of the multiple client printing systems. The multiple client printing systems are associated with the administration account. The method further includes presenting a data structure comprising an object associated with each of the multiple client printing systems. The method additionally includes determining license usage data for the multiple client printing systems based on the printing manager instances. The method also includes presenting the license usage data.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/242,038, filed Apr. 27, 2021 for “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPERATINGMULTIPLE CLIENT PRINTING SYSTEMS,” which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/455,602, filed Jun. 27, 2019 for “SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR OPERATING MULTIPLE CLIENT PRINTING SYSTEMS,” which isrelated to and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/692,549, filed Jun. 29, 2018 for “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORMANAGING MULTIPLE CLIENT PRINTING ENTITIES,” which are all incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to computers andcomputer-related technology. More specifically, the present disclosurerelates to systems and methods for operating multiple client printingsystems.

BACKGROUND

Computer technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Computerscommonly used include everything from hand-held computing devices tolarge multi-processor computer systems. These computers include softwareoperating systems and applications that include user interfaces, inorder to make them useful and accessible to an end user. Computers areincreasingly linked with other computers and other devices, such asprinters, through networks.

One of the challenges involved with computers is configuring printers.For example, configuring a large number of printers may be atime-consuming process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofdevices for operating multiple client printing systems;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one configuration of a method foroperating multiple client printing systems;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface (UI) forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI of a printingmanager instance;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a website;and

FIG. 12 illustrates various components that may be utilized in anelectronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method for operating multiple client printing systems is describedherein. The method includes creating an administration account. Themethod also includes instantiating a printing manager instance for eachof the multiple client printing systems. The multiple client printingsystems are associated with the administration account. The methodfurther includes presenting a data structure including an objectassociated with each of the multiple client printing systems. The methodadditionally includes determining license usage data for the multipleclient printing systems based on the printing manager instances. Themethod also includes presenting the license usage data.

Determining the license usage data may include determining a number ofinstalled printers for each of the multiple client printing systems.Determining the license usage data may include determining a clientaverage license usage for each of the multiple client printing systemsfor a billing cycle and determining a summary average license usage overall of the multiple client printing systems for the billing cycle. Themethod may include generating a bill for the billing cycle for theadministration account based on the summary average license usage overall of the multiple client printing systems for the billing cycle.

The method may include determining one or more folders for the datastructure. Each of the one or more folders includes one or more of theobjects associated with one or more of the multiple client printingsystems. The method may include determining user permissions, which mayinclude granting or restricting access to at least one of the objects orone or more folders for a user account.

The method may include presenting billing information based on userpermissions. The method may include sharing settings or resources acrossmultiple printing manager instances. The method may include sharingprinter drivers and printer profiles across a plurality of the multipleclient printing systems. The method may include setting a globalprinting manager instance configuration and applying the global printingmanager instance configuration to a plurality of the printing managerinstances.

A computing device is also described. The computing device includes aprocessor. The computing device also includes memory in electroniccommunication with the processor. The computing device further includesinstructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable tocreate an administration account. The instructions are also executableto instantiate a printing manager instance for each of the multipleclient printing systems. The multiple client printing systems areassociated with the administration account. The instructions are furtherexecutable to present a data structure including an object associatedwith each of the multiple client printing systems. The instructions areadditionally executable to determine license usage data for the multipleclient printing systems based on the printing manager instances. Theinstructions are also executable to present the license usage data.

A non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium storing computerexecutable code is also described. The executable code includes code forcausing a computing device to create an administration account. Theexecutable code also includes code for causing the computing device toinstantiate a printing manager instance for each of the multiple clientprinting systems. The multiple client printing systems are associatedwith the administration account. The executable code further includescode for causing the computing device to present a data structureincluding an object associated with each of the multiple client printingsystems. The executable code additionally includes code for causing thecomputing device to determine license usage data for the multiple clientprinting systems based on the printing manager instances. The executablecode also includes code for causing the computing device to present thelicense usage data.

Systems and methods for operating multiple client printing systems aredescribed herein. Efficiently operating client printing systems is onecurrent problem, particularly for organizations that operate multipleclient printing systems. For example, organizations that provide managedprint services (MPS) may have to deal with a large number of clientprinting systems associated with businesses, organizations, schools,homes, etc. For instance, some organizations may offer informationtechnology (IT) services including managed print services, where theorganization provides installation and maintenance of one or moreprinters for client printing systems. In one example, an organizationmay provide managed print services for multiple businesses, where eachbusiness has a client printing system (e.g., network of one or morecomputing devices and one or more printers). The organization mayutilize one or more computing devices to manage installation of printersand/or licensing of printing manager software for the client printingsystems. However, a problem arises in that technology for deployingprinting manager software and/or managing billing may be limited on aclient printing system basis. For example, an organization mayseparately deploy printing manager software for each individual clientprinting system. Additionally or alternatively, the technology forlicensing printing manager software may be limited to allocating a setnumber of printing manager software licenses for each client printingsystem. Furthermore, technology for billing in such arrangements may belimited in flexibility due to the limited flexibility in licensing.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may address one or more ofthese technological problems by providing improvements to thefunctioning of computing devices. For example, a computing device may beimplemented to enable integration of multiple printing manager softwareinstances for multiple client printing systems. Technologicallyintegrating operation of multiple client printing systems mayadditionally or alternatively include providing a data structure (e.g.,expandable/collapsible object list) that includes objects associatedwith each of the multiple client printing systems, direct determinationof license usage over multiple client printing systems, and/ordetermining billing on the basis of licensed printers in multipledifferent client printing systems.

Various configurations of the systems and methods are now described withreference to the Figures. The configurations of the present systems andmethods, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein,could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of severalconfigurations, as represented in the Figures, is not intended to limitthe scope of the systems and methods, as claimed, but is merelyrepresentative of the various configurations of the systems and methods.In the Figures, some elements may be labeled with a number and a letter(e.g., printer(s) 106 a), where the letter may indicate one element of aset of elements. When a corresponding number is used without a letter(e.g., printer(s) 106), the number may refer to one, some, any, or allof the set of elements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofdevices 100 for operating multiple client printing systems. The devices100 include a computing device 102, one or more networks 108, and two ormore client printing systems 110. Each of the client printing systems110 a-n may include one or more networks 109, one or more printers 106,and/or one or more remote computing devices 104. The remote computingdevice(s) 104 may communicate with the computing device 102 via one ormore networks 108, 109. Examples of the network(s) 108, 109 may includeone or more local area networks (LANs), one or more wide area networks(WANs), one or more personal area networks (PANs), one or moremetropolitan area networks (MANs), the Internet, and/or combinationsthereof.

One or more remote computing devices 104 may be configured tocommunicate with the network(s) 108, 109. Examples of the computingdevice 102 and/or the remote computing device(s) 104 may includeservers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers,smartphones, tablet devices, etc. In some configurations, one or moreother computing devices may communicate with the computing device 102via the network(s) 108. For example, a computing device (not shown inFIG. 1 ) that is outside of the client printing systems 110 maycommunicate with the computing device 102 via the network(s) 108. Forinstance, a computing device of an organization that provides managedprint services may remotely communicate with the computing device 102 toprovide input for operating the client printing systems.

In some examples, the network(s) 109 may be one or more relatively smallnetworks, where each includes fifty or fewer printers 106. In anotherimplementation, the network(s) 109 may belong to a large organizationwhere the network(s) 109 may include more than 50 printers, includedifferent subnets, and/or may be spread across different geographicregions.

One challenge to operating printing systems is configuring printers 106for one or more remote computing devices 104 on the network(s) 108and/or network(s) 109. To properly utilize a printer 106, a remotecomputing device 104 may be configured with a printer driver and aprinting profile. A printer driver may be software that converts data tobe printed to a format specific for a printer 106.

A printing profile may include one or more settings for a printer 106.The one or more settings may include tray options, paper options, papersizes, duplex options, dots-per-inch (DPI) settings, watermark options,name, comment, location, etc. Therefore, a printing profile may be acollection of customized printer settings or attributes.

As described above, one problem with printing systems is that eachprinting system corresponding to a client may be operated individually.This can be a time-consuming and inefficient process. For example, anorganization (e.g., service provider) may provide technology and/orservices for installing and/or maintaining printer functionality formultiple client printing systems 110. Due to a need to isolate accessand/or control of different client printing systems, different clientprinting systems have not been accessible to operate from one interface.For example, different printing systems for different clients of MPSproviders have been isolated due to security problems (e.g., a user fromone client should not be able to access a printing system of anotherclient), technical issues (e.g., different system configurations,different licensing for different clients), and/or billing issues (e.g.,billing between clients is isolated). Some configurations of the systemsand methods disclosed herein may provide operational control and/oraccess from one interface. For example, some configurations may providesecurity between client printing systems 110 while also allowing one ormore authorized users to manage different client printing systems 110from a single interface (e.g., without having to log in to differentaccounts corresponding to different client printing systems 110).Additionally or alternatively, some configurations may resolve technicalissues of controlling different system configurations and/or differentlicensing between different client printing systems 110. Additionally oralternatively, some configurations may improve billing flexibility byenabling licensing to be consumed on a usage basis over multiple clientprinting systems.

The computing device 102 may host a website 111 that is accessible viathe network(s) 108. The computing device 102 may include (e.g., storedata and/or instructions in memory for) one or more printer definitions112, a client printing system operator 113, a printer driver repository122, a printing profile repository 126, an instantiator 127, aninstaller generator 130, and/or a deployment manager 134. Althoughillustrated as a single device, the computing device 102 may includemultiple devices. For example, the computing device 102 could compriseone or more load-balancing routers, one or more web servers, one or moreapplication servers, and/or one or more database servers in operablecommunication with each other.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may include one or moredisplays, may be coupled to one or more displays, and/or may communicatewith (e.g., send data to) one or more displays. The computing device 102may present the website 111 and/or one or more user interfacescorresponding to the operations described herein. For example, thecomputing device 102 may render a user interface on a local display ormay send data for a user interface to one or more other computingdevices over one or more networks (e.g., network(s) 108, network(s) 109,etc.). In some approaches, the computing device 102 may send userinterface (e.g., website 111) data to a computer being used by anadministrator, service provider, or other user.

The printer driver repository 122 may store one or more printer drivers.The printing profile repository 126 may store one or more printingprofiles. A printing profile may comprise one or more settings for aprinter 106. For example, the one or more settings may include trayoptions, paper options, paper sizes, duplex options, dots-per-inch (DPI)settings, watermark options, name, comment, location, etc.

In some configurations, the client printing system operator 113 maycreate (via the website 111 and/or an application programming interface(API), for example), an administration account. An administrationaccount may be data (e.g., object, structure, etc.) that enables a userto access and/or provide input for operating multiple client printingsystems. For example, an administration account may provide visibilityinto all of the data (e.g., printer definitions 112, printer drivers,printing profiles, deployment rules, licensing, billing, accessauthorization, etc.) maintained by the computing device 102 that isassociated with a set of client printing systems 110. In someconfigurations, the computing device 102 may receive data from a remotecomputing device to create the administration account. For example, acomputing device of an organization associated with a set of clientprinting systems 110 may provide information for creating and/or editingthe administration account. In some configurations, the client printingsystem operator 113 may create an administration account object in adata structure corresponding to the administration account. For example,the client printing system operator 113 may create an icon thatrepresents the administration account in a list or other structure. Whenthe administration account object is selected, the client printingsystem operator 113 may present (via the website 111 and/or an API, forexample) data corresponding to the administration account. For example,the client printing system operator 113 may present a number of clientprinting systems 110 corresponding to the administration account. Forinstance, the client printing system operator 113 may present the numberof client printing systems with a label (e.g., “Customer Count”). Anexample of an interface illustrating an administration account object(e.g., managed service provider (MSP) account, “MSP A”) is given inconnection with FIG. 3 .

The instantiator 127 may instantiate (via the website 111 and/or an API,for example) a printing manager instance for each of a set of clientprinting systems 110. The set of (e.g., multiple) client printingsystems 110 may be associated with the administration account. A“printing manager instance” may be an instance of printing managersoftware (e.g., printing cloud software, printing installer software,etc.) for managing a single client printing system 110. For example, aprinting manager instance may manage the configuration of and/orinformation (e.g., printer definitions 112, printer drivers, printingprofiles, installers, deployment rules, licenses, billing, etc.) of asingle client printing system 110. In some configurations, the website111 may receive an input indicating an instruction to create a newprinting manager instance for a client printing system. In response tothe command, the instantiator 127 may instantiate a printing managerinstance.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may share settingsand/or resources across multiple printing manager (e.g., PrinterInstaller) instances. For example, the computing device 102 may providean ability to share printer drivers across multiple printing managerinstances (e.g., upload a printer driver once and use the printer driverin multiple printing manager instances). In some configurations, thecomputing device 102 may share one or more printer drivers and/orprinter profiles across some or all client printing systems 110. Thismay allow uploading (by an MSP, for example) a driver and configuringprofiles once at the MSP level, and then allowing assignment to printingmanager instances. Additionally or alternatively, the computing device102 may save settings (e.g., lightweight directory access protocol(LDAP) settings) in one place and apply the settings to multipleprinting manager instances. In some configurations, the computing device102 may set a global printing manager instance configuration andautomatically apply the global printing manager instance configurationto (e.g., across) one or more printing manager instances and/or one ormore new printing manager instances. For example, the global printingmanager instance configuration may include LDAP setting(s), simplenetwork management protocol (SNMP) setting(s), client configurationsetting(s), printing configuration setting(s), and/or portal settings,etc.

The client printing system operator 113 may present (via the website 111and/or an API, for example) a data structure comprising an objectassociated with each of the multiple client printing systems 110. Forexample, objects in the data structure may be associated with eachprinting manager instance that corresponds to each client printingsystem 110. In some configurations, the data structure may be a liststructure and/or tree structure. In some approaches, each of the objectsassociated with the multiple client printing systems may be associatedwith (e.g., branch from) an administration account object. For example,each of the objects may be included in a collapsible sub-list or branchassociated with the administration account object. Some examples ofobjects associated with examples of client printing systems 110 areshown in FIG. 4 . In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates examples of objectsassociated with client printing systems 110 (e.g., printing managerinstances for each of the client printing systems 110). In that example,the objects may be a collapsible sub-list under the administrationaccount object “MSP A.”

The client printing system operator 113 may determine one or morefolders for the data structure. One or more of the folder(s) may includeone or more objects associated with one or more of the multiple clientprinting systems 110. For example, a folder may be utilized to organizeand/or group one or more objects associated with one or more clientprinting systems 110. Examples of folders are illustrated in FIG. 7 .Examples of determining and/or editing folders are given in connectionwith FIGS. 5-7 . Folders may organize objects associated with clientprinting systems on variety of bases (e.g., different clients (such asdifferent users, different businesses, for example), different entities,geographical region, work division, personnel responsibility, time,and/or other category).

The client printing system operator 113 may determine one or more userpermissions. User permissions may grant or restrict access to one ormore of the objects associated with one or more client printing systemsand/or to one or more folders. For example, user permissions may definespecific permissions that each individual user has.

An object associated with a client printing system 110 may provideaccess to the corresponding printing manager instance. For example, theclient printing system operator 113 may allow, via the website 111and/or an API, one or more of the objects and/or folders to be selected.For instance, the client printing system operator 113 may receive aninput that indicates a selection of an object associated with a clientprinting system 110 (e.g., associated with a printing manager instancefor the client printing system 110). The client printing system operator113 may present (via the website 111 and/or an API, for example) datacorresponding to the one or more selected objects.

In some configurations, the client printing system operator 113 mayprovide a log in function corresponding to one or more selected objects(e.g., corresponding to one or more printing manager instances). Forexample, the client printing system operator 113 may enable a one-clicklog in or automatic log in to one or more printing manager instances ina case that a current user (e.g., user account) has permission to log into the printing manager instance(s).

In some configurations, the client printing system operator 113 mayprovide integrated access to and/or control of multiple printing managerinstances associated with multiple client printing systems 110. Forexample, the client printing system operator 113 may enable navigationto and/or modification of printing configuration information formultiple printing manager instances associated with multiple clientprinting systems 110. This may enable integrated access to manage allclient printing systems 110 for an administrator, service provider, oruser. For example, this may avoid requiring an administrator, serviceprovider, and/or user to separately log in to different printing managerinstances for configuration, licensing, and/or billing purposes.

In some configurations, the client printing system operator 113 maydetermine license usage data for the multiple client printing systems110 based on the printing manager instances. For example, the clientprinting system operator 113 may determine a number of installedprinters for each of the multiple client printing systems 110. In someconfigurations, each of the printing manager instances may include,provide, and/or allow access to determine the number of installedprinters for each respective client printing system 110 a-n. In someexamples, a license may be a license to utilize printing managersoftware (e.g., printing cloud software, printing installer software,etc.).

In some configurations, the client printing system operator 113 maydetermine a total number of installed printers for all of the clientprinting systems 110 a-n. For example, the client printing systemoperator 113 may sum numbers of installed printers for the clientprinting systems 110. In some approaches, the client printing systemoperator 113 may poll each printing manager instance for the respectivenumber of installed printers and add the resulting numbers to determinethe total number of installed printers. The number of installed printersmay indicate license usage data. For example, the client printing systemoperator 113 may determine a number of installed printers for eachclient printing system 110 and/or may determine a total number ofinstalled printers over all of the client printing systems 110 (e.g.,separate client printing systems 110 corresponding to separate clients).Additionally or alternatively, the client printing system operator 113may determine license usage data based on user permissions. For example,the client printing system operator may determine license usage datacorresponding to client printing systems 110 to which a user has access.In some configurations (e.g., in a micro service architecture), theremay be no concrete instance that contains the number of installedprinters in some configurations. The information may be spread out overthe entire system (e.g., multiple client printing systems 110) in someapproaches.

In some configurations, determining the license usage data may includedetermining a client average license usage for each of the clientprinting systems 110 a-n for a billing cycle or a billing period.Additionally or alternatively, determining the license usage data mayinclude determining a summary average license usage over all of theclient printing systems 110 a-n for the billing cycle or a billingperiod (e.g., a week, a month, a quarter, etc.). For example, the clientprinting system operator 113 may track the number of installed printersover a billing cycle (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly, when changed, etc.).The client printing system operator 113 may average the number ofinstalled printers to determine the client average license usage and/orthe summary average license usage. For example, the computing device 102(e.g., client printing system operator 113) may average the number ofinstalled printers over time (e.g., may sample a number of installedprinters daily and average the samples at the end of a month). This maysimplify license usage tracking and/or billing for administrationaccounts by integrating license usage over multiple printing managerinstances. In some configurations, this may allow licenses to beefficiently and flexibly allocated, where a fixed number of licensesdoes not need to be set up in advance for each client printing system.Accordingly, a license may be issued for each installed printer 106 inthe client printing systems according to each printing manager instance.In some approaches, the number(s) of installed printer(s) and/oraverages may be based on user permissions, indicating those clientprinting systems to which a user (e.g., user account) has access.

The client printing system operator 113 may present, via the website 111and/or an API, the license usage data. For example, the client printingsystem operator 113 may present a current number of licenses (forinstalled printers, for example) and/or one or more billing cycleaverages. In some examples, a current number of licenses may be brokenout for one or more of the client printing systems 110 a-n and/or mayinclude one or more totals (e.g., a total for all client printingsystems 110 a-n and/or a selected subset of the client printing systems110 a-n). An example of license usage data is given in connection withFIG. 4 .

The client printing system operator 113 may generate a bill for thebilling cycle for the administration account based on the license usage.For example, the client printing system operator 113 may determine acharge for a client average license usage and/or for the summary averagelicense usage over all of the multiple client printing systems. In someapproaches, the computing device 102 may send the bill to anothercomputing device (e.g., a computing device for the administrationaccount) via the network(s) 108. Additionally or alternatively, theclient printing system operator 113 may print the bill (for sending ahard copy, for example). In some configurations, the client printingsystem operator 113 may generate one or more bills for individual clientprinting systems 110 a-n, where each bill indicates a share of thelicense usage for each respective client printing system 110 a-n. Insome examples, the computing device 102 may automatically send a bill,bills, and/or billing information based on the license usage (e.g.,summary average license usage). For example, the computing device 102may send billing information via an email, text message notification,website, API, automatic bill payment request, paper invoice, etc., to aMPS organization and/or to one or more clients corresponding to theclient printing system(s) 110 a-n.

In some configurations, one or more of the operations described hereinmay be performed via the website 111 and/or an API. For example, aservice provider or user may provide input that may be sent to thecomputing device 102 via the website 111 and/or an API. The computingdevice 102 may utilize the input to perform one or more operations. Forexample, the computing device 102 may receive data (e.g., account name,financial information, billing information, contact information, etc.)for creating the administration account. Additionally or alternatively,the website 111 may receive data (e.g., client printing system name,number of printers, type of printers, printer definition information,deployment rules etc.) for instantiating and/or editing a printingmanager instance.

In some configurations, each printing manager instance may perform oneor more of the following operations described for installing and/ormaintaining printers 106 for each client printing system. For example,the computing device 102 may determine a printer driver for a printer.For example, the computing device 102 may determine a printer driver tobe used for a printer during printer definition 112 creation and/orediting. In some configurations, the computing device 102 may receive aninput (via an input device and/or the network(s) 108) indicating aprinter driver for a printer. In some configurations, the computingdevice 102 may automatically detect a printer 106 and determine aprinter driver associated with the printer.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may determine at leastone printing profile for a printer 106. In some configurations, thecomputing device 102 may determine a selected printing profile for theprinter 106. For example, the computing device 102 may receive an input(via an input device and/or the network(s) 108) indicating a selectionof a printing profile for the printer 106. In some approaches, aprinting profile reference corresponding to the selected printingprofile may be included in a printer definition 112 (when creatingand/or editing a printer definition 112 for the printer 106, forexample). The printing profile reference may be utilized to applysettings (e.g., default settings) to the printer 106 when the printer(e.g., printer driver) is installed and/or configured on one or moreremote computing devices 104. In some configurations, printer definition112 creation and/or printer installation may be performed in accordancewith the following.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may create a printerdefinition 112 for one or more printers 106. A printer definition 112may comprise a network address, one or more printer driver references,one or more printing profile references and one or more install uniformresource identifiers (URI). In an implementation, the network addressmay be an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the printer 106. In anotherimplementation, the network address may include a hostname of theprinter 106.

The printer driver reference may uniquely identify a printer driverstored in the printer driver repository 122. The printing profilereference may uniquely identify a printing profile stored in theprinting profile repository 126.

The install URI may specify an access mechanism and a location fordownloading an installer generated by the installer generator 130. In animplementation, the install URI may include a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) or Uniform Resource Name (URN) that identifies the computingdevice 102 as a source for an installer or deployment rules to configurea printer 106.

In some configurations, a service provider may utilize a SaaS deploymentof printer drivers and printing profiles to simplify the delivery ofprint services to an organization. An example of a service providerincludes a managed print services (MPS) that provides print services toa user (e.g., customer). Another example of a service provider is aninformation technology (IT) administrator that provides IT services toan organization.

In some configurations, a service provider may use a computing device(e.g., a remote computing device 104 or another computing device) toaccess a website 111 hosted by the computing device 102 via thenetwork(s) 108. The service provider may use the website 111 to create aprinter definition 112 for a printer 106 that has been or will beprovided to a user. The service provider may specify a network address(e.g., IP address or hostname) for a printer 106. The service providermay upload one or more printer drivers for the printer 106. This mayinclude separate printer drivers for different operating systems (e.g.,Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc.), different versions ofoperating systems (e.g., Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows8, Windows 10, etc.), and different computing systems (e.g., 32-bit,64-bit, etc.), etc. In some configurations, the computing device 102 maycreate one or more printing profiles based on user (e.g., serviceprovider) input.

In some configurations, after creating the printer definition 112, thecomputing device 102 may enable installing a printer and/or changingprinter settings in accordance with a printing profile. For example, thecomputing device 102 may determine a printer driver for the printer 106,which may enable determination and/or selection of a printing profilefor the printer 106.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may provide either aninstaller or deployment rules to configure a remote computing device 104to communicate with the printer 106 using the printer definition 112. Insome implementations, the computing device 102 may include an installergenerator 130.

The installer generator 130 may generate an installer based on a printerdefinition 112. The installer may be run by a remote computing device104. Running the installer may configure the remote computing device 104to communicate with a printer 106. Configuring the remote computingdevice 104 to communicate with the printer 106 may comprise creating anetwork printer port based on the network address in the printerdefinition 112, installing the printer driver referenced in the printerdefinition 112, and configuring settings for the printer 106 based onthe printing profile referenced in the printer definition 112.

In some configurations, the computing device 102 may send an install URIto the remote computing device 104 via the network(s) 108. In animplementation, the install URI may be sent in an email, a text message,an instant message, etc. In another implementation, the install URI maybe added to a deployment rule.

The install URI may be activated on a remote computing device 104. Forexample, a user may click on a link in an email. The remote computingdevice 104 may send an indication to the computing device 102 that theinstall URI has been activated by the user.

The computing device 102 may generate an installer based on the printerdefinition 112 and send the installer to the remote computing device104. In some configurations, the installer is generated when thecomputing device 102 receives the indication. In other configurations,the computing device 102 generates the installer prior to receipt of theindication. Activating the install URI may cause the remote computingdevice 104 to download the installer.

The remote computing device 104 may next prompt the user to run theinstaller. The installer may create a network printer port on the remotecomputing device 104 based on the network address, install the printerdriver, and configure the settings for the printer 106 based on theprinting profile. After the installer has completed, the remotecomputing device 104 may be configured to communicate with the printer106 over the network(s). In other words, the remote computing device 104may be configured to print using the printer 106.

In another approach, the computing device 102 may include a deploymentmanager 134 that may communicate with a printer cloud client on a remotecomputing device 104. The printer cloud client may be a software agentthat exists on a remote computing device 104. The printer cloud clientmay be configured to communicate with the computing device 102 via thenetwork(s) 108. In this example, the remote computing device 104includes the printer cloud client. It should be noted that the printercloud client may be included on one or more (e.g., all or not all) ofthe remote computing devices 104.

The deployment manager 134 may generate deployment rules for a givenprinter 106 based on the printer definition 112. Deployment rules may beassigned to printers 106 and are used to determine if a printer driveror printing profile should be installed on the remote computing device104. These deployment rules may be created based on input from anadministrator, service provider, and/or user and associated with theprinter definition 112 of a given printer 106.

In an implementation, the deployment rules can target a specifichostname, group of users, a range of IP address, MAC address or anActive Directory container, organizational unit (OU), computer, user,group, etc. The deployment manager 134 may include targeting rules todetermine which computing devices 104 should have a printer 106installed. On the computing device 102, an administrator may assign adeployment rule to the defined printer 106 and/or profile. When theprinter cloud client checks in with the computing device 102, theprinter cloud client may consider the deployment rules. If a deploymentrule applies to the remote computing device 104 or user, the printerdriver and printing profile may be installed.

The computing device 102 may send the deployment rules to the printercloud client. The deployment rules may include instructions for theprinter cloud client to install and configure a printer driver andprinting profile for a given printer 106. In an implementation, thedeployment rules may include information included in a printerdefinition 112. For example, the deployment rules may include an installURI.

In an implementation, the printer definition 112 may include a list ofremote computing devices 104 that are to be configured to communicatewith a given printer 106. For example, a service provider may indicate,via the website 111 and/or an API, which computing devices 104 should beconfigured to print to a given printer 106. The computing device 102 maymaintain a list of these computing devices 104 in the printer definition112.

After creating the printer definition 112 for the printer 106, thecomputing device 102 may send the deployment rules to the printer cloudclient. For example, the computing device 102 may send an install URI tothe remote computing device 104 via the network(s) 108. In animplementation, the computing device 102 may only send the deploymentrules to the printer cloud client that requests them. One or moreprinter cloud clients may check in with the computing device 102 forthings to do on a configurable basis.

Upon receiving the deployment rules, the printer cloud client may createa network printer port on the remote computing device 104 based on thenetwork address. The printer cloud client may also contact the computingdevice 102 to acquire a printer driver and a printing profile for theprinter 106. The printer cloud client may install the printer driver,and configure the settings for the printer 106 based on the printingprofile. After the printer cloud client has completed, the remotecomputing device 104 may be configured to communicate with the printer106 over the network(s) 108. In other words, the remote computing device104 may be configured to print using the printer 106.

In this implementation, rather than have an end-user to click an emailor go to a portal and select to install the printer 106, the printercloud client may perform the printer driver installation andconfiguration.

The systems and methods described herein may be beneficial with serviceproviders that provide print services for a number of organizations. Forexample, the client printing system operator 113 may integrate access,configuration, licensing, and/or billing functions across multipleclient printing systems 110. For example, some configurations may enablea user to view and/or modify information for multiple client printingsystems (associated with customers, for example) in a single portal. Insome configurations, for example, a user may log in to a portal (with aUI, for instance), which may provide access to multiple printermanagement instances corresponding to multiple client printing systems(without having to individually log in to each printer managementinstance). For example, the computing device 102 (e.g., client printingsystem operator 113) may provide access (e.g., concurrent access) to theprinting manager instances corresponding to the client printing systems110 a-n to install, configure, uninstall, deploy, and/or manage, etc.,printer(s) 106 across multiple client printing systems 110 a-n. This mayimprove computing device functionality by providing a unified interfaceto multiple printing manager instances.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating one configuration of a method 200for operating multiple client printing systems. In some configurations,the method may be performed by the computing device 102 described inconnection with FIG. 1 .

The computing device 102 may create 202 (via a website 111 and/or anapplication programming interface (API), for example) an administrationaccount. This may be accomplished as described in connection with FIG. 1. In some configurations, administration accounts may be created via anAPI call from a remote computing device to the computing device 102(e.g., from a salesforce computing device to a customer managementportal (CMP)).

The computing device 102 may instantiate 204 (via the website 111 and/oran API, for example) a printing manager instance for each of themultiple client printing systems. This may be accomplished as describedin connection with FIG. 1 . In some configurations, a printing managerinstance (e.g., PrinterCloud instances, Printer Installer (PI)instances, etc.) may be created through an API. For example, managedservice providers (MSPs) may utilize a remote computing device to createan instance via a website, and non-MSP PrinterCloud instances may becreated through an API in some approaches. Additionally oralternatively, an MSP may use an API to create instances through theAPI. The multiple client printing systems may be associated with theadministration account.

The computing device 102 may present 206 (via the website 111 and/or anAPI, for example) a data structure comprising an object associated witheach of the multiple client printing systems (e.g., each of the printingmanager instances). This may be accomplished as described in connectionwith FIG. 1 . In some configurations, the data structure may bepresented through an API. For example, some functionality (e.g., all CMPfunctionality) may be integrated with a third party management tool.Accordingly, some functionality may be presented via APIs.

The computing device 102 may determine 208 license usage data for themultiple client printing systems based on the printing managerinstances. This may be accomplished as described in connection with FIG.1 . For example, the computing device 102 may determine a number ofprinters (e.g., installed printers) for each client printing systemand/or a total number of printers for a set of client printing systems.

The computing device 102 may present 210 (via the website 111 and/or anAPI, for example) the license usage data. This may be accomplished asdescribed in connection with FIG. 1 . For example, the computing device102 may display the license usage data on a screen and/or may send thelicense usage data to another computing device for output. In additionto or alternatively from providing the license usage data via thewebsite 111, the license usage data may be provided through an API. Forexample, a sales force computing device may use the API. In someconfigurations, the API may be accessible by MSP users and/or thirdparty administration consoles.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI 336 for interactingwith a computing device configured to operate multiple client printingsystems. The UI 336 may be presented by a computing device (e.g.,computing device 102, remote computing device 104). For example, the UI336 may be presented and/or accessed via a website and/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a data structure 338.The data structure 338 includes an administration account object with acontrol 340 (e.g., expansion/collapse control), an icon 342, and a name344. In this example, the name 344 of the administration account objectis “MSP A.” In this example, the administration account object is partof the data structure 338, which may be a tree structure or a liststructure. The data structure may be expandable and/or collapsible. Forinstance, the control 340 may be activated via an interface device(e.g., mouse, touch screen, controller, etc.) to expand and show one ormore objects associated with one or more client printing systems. Insome examples, the administration account object may include or beassociated with objects for client printing systems.

In this example, the UI 336 includes a counts panel 346. The countspanel 346 may display one or more counts in association with the datastructure 338. In this example, the administration account object isselected, which may cause the UI 336 to show a number 348 ofadministration accounts (e.g., 1), and a number 350 of client printingsystems (e.g., 68) with a label (e.g., “Client Count”).

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 436 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI 436 may be presented by a computingdevice (e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). Forexample, the UI 436 may be presented and/or accessed via a websiteand/or an API.

The example illustrated in FIG. 4 illustrates a data structure 438. Inparticular, FIG. 4 illustrates some examples of objects 454 a-eassociated with some client printing systems. Each of the objects 454a-e may be presented with an icon and a name (e.g., “Client A,” “ClientB,” “Client C,” “Client D,” and “Client E”). The examples of the objects454 a-e may be associated with printing manager instances for each ofthe client printing systems. In this example, an administration accountobject 452 “MSP A” has been expanded to show the objects 454 a-eassociated with client printing systems corresponding to theadministration account.

In this example, the UI 436 also illustrates interface objects (e.g.,panels, fields, and a button). In particular, the UI 436 includes anadministration account name panel 456 with a text field and a button toenable a computing device to update the name of the administrationaccount. A counts panel 446 is also illustrated, which shows a number450 of client printing systems with a label (e.g., “Client Count”). Thenumber 450 corresponds to the objects 454 a-e (associated with clientprinting systems) in the data structure 438 of the UI 436.

In this example, the UI 436 includes a license usage panel 458. Thelicense usage panel 458 shows a total current number 464 of licenses(e.g., installed printers) corresponding to all of the client printingsystems associated with the administration account. The license usagepanel 458 also shows averages 462, 460 (determined by a computingdevice) of summary average license usage over all of the client printingsystems (e.g., printing manager instance) for a previous billing cycle470 and a current billing cycle 468. In particular, the license usagepanel shows a current billing cycle average 460 and a last billing cycleaverage 462 for all of the client printing systems. The license usagepanel 458 also shows individual details 466 of license usage broken outin rows of a table for client printing systems.

It should be noted that although FIG. 4 illustrates one example of alicense usage panel 458 or dialog, other examples may be implemented. Inanother example, only averages may be listed in the license usage panel458 at a particular level (e.g., MSP level). More details may bedisplayed in the license usage panel 458 at a lower level (e.g., clientprinting system level, small-and-medium-sized business (SMB) level),etc.). Accordingly, different levels of detail (e.g., whether averagesare presented) may depend on the level selected in the data structure.In some examples (e.g., in another implementation of a customermanagement portal), billing information, averages, and/or details, etc.,may be presented at the folder level. In some configurations, billinginformation may be presented based on user permissions. For example, auser (e.g., user account) may only access (e.g., view) billinginformation (aggregated and/or specific billing information, forinstance) based on corresponding user permissions (e.g., based on theinstances and folders that they are permitted to view).

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 572 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI 572 may be presented by a computingdevice (e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). Forexample, the UI 572 may be presented and/or accessed via a websiteand/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 5 illustrates a dialog box for creating a new objectassociated with a client printing system. Specifically, a name field maybe utilized to name the new client printing system. A client uniformresource locator (URL) field may be utilized to specify a uniformresource locator to access controls and/or settings for the clientprinting system. For example, when the computing device 102 receives theinformation from the text fields in the dialog box (when the createbutton is selected, for example), an instantiator (e.g., instantiator127) may instantiate a new instance of a printing manager for the clientprinting system. The computing device 102 may also create an objectassociated with the client printing system in the data structure. Asillustrated in FIG. 5 , the object associated with the client printingsystem may be created in a folder (e.g., “Folder A”) in the datastructure in some cases. In some configurations, the UI 572 may be apop-up dialog that appears in a foreground on top of another UI (e.g.,UI 436).

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 674 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI 674 may be presented by a computingdevice (e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). Forexample, the UI 572 may be presented and/or accessed via a websiteand/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates a dialog box for creating a new folderin the data structure. Specifically, a folder name field may be utilizedto name the folder. For example, when the computing device 102 receivesthe information from the text field in the dialog box (when the createbutton is selected, for example), the client printing system operator113 may create a new folder in the data structure. Depending on aselection in the data structure, the folder may be added to a sub-listof the administrative account object and/or to a sub-list of an objectassociated with a client printing system. The data structure may providedrag-and-drop functionality such that the administration object(s),and/or objects associated with client printing systems may be moved intoa folder, out of a folder, between folders, etc. The drag-and-dropfunctionality may also be utilized to change the data structure (e.g.,change which sub-list a folder is in).

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 736 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI 736 may be presented by a computingdevice (e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). Forexample, the UI 736 may be presented and/or accessed via a websiteand/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 7 shows a more specific example of the datastructure 738 (in the left panel, for example). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the data structure 738 may be a tree or list with one or morecollapsible and/or expandable branches or sub-lists. The data structure738 may include one or more administrative account objects (e.g.,administrative account object 752), objects 754 a-e associated withclient printing systems, folders 776 a-b, and/or printer objects 778a-d. In this example, a control (e.g., expansion/collapse control) maybe utilized with an object 754 b for client B. Similar controls may beutilized for folders in the data structure 738.

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the UI 736 may include a folder name panel780 that may include control to name and/or update a folder name of aselected folder. The UI 736 may show information (e.g., client printingsystem counts, administrative account count, licensing usageinformation, editing panels, etc.) based on a selection of the object(s)in the data structure. For example, a counts panel 746 may show a numberof printer objects (that may correspond to actual printers, forinstance) in a selected folder and sub-folders of the selected folder.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 882 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI may be presented by a computing device(e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). For example,the UI 736 may be presented and/or accessed via a website and/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates a UI 882 for updating userpermissions. For example, a user account for a (e.g., technician, enduser, etc.) may have permissions data that dictates which nodes of thedata structure 838 may be accessed. For instance, the UI 882 may enableallowing or restricting access to one or more nodes (e.g., anadministration account object 852, objects 854 a-d associated withclient printing systems, folders 876 a-b, and/or printers 878 a-d, etc.)of the data structure 838. Accordingly, the permissions for a useraccount (e.g., for User A in FIG. 8 ) may be utilized to determine whichnodes of the data structure 838 are presented for the user accountand/or may determine which printing manager instances may be accessedvia the user account. Additionally or alternatively, the permissions fora user account may be utilized to determine whether information (e.g.,license usage information, billing information, configurationinformation, etc.) will be presented for a user account.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8 , the UI 882 includes controls 890that may be selected to activate or deactivate user permissionscorresponding to nodes of the data structure 838. In this example, UserA has permission to access the object for printer A 878 a, the objectfor printer C 878 c, and folder B 876 b.

In some configurations, the UI 882 may include a user administrationpanel 888. For example, the UI 882 and/or the user administration panel888 may include a control (e.g., checkbox) for specifying where a useraccount is allowed to create, edit, and/or delete other user accounts.In some configurations, the UI 882 may include a control 886 (e.g.,button) for editing user information and/or a control 884 (e.g., backbutton) for navigation. For instance, activating the control 886 mayswitch to and/or open the UI 990 described in connection with FIG. 9 forupdating or editing a user account and/or information in some examples.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of a UI 990 forinteracting with a computing device configured to operate multipleclient printing systems. The UI may be presented by a computing device(e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). For example,the UI 990 may be presented and/or accessed via a website and/or an API.

In particular, FIG. 9 illustrates another UI 990 for updating a useraccount. As illustrated in FIG. 9 , the UI 990 may include a userinformation panel 996 with controls (e.g., fields and a button) forspecifying an email address, first name, and last name of a user. The UI990 may include an MSP panel 998 for specifying (e.g., selecting) anassociated administration account. For example, the MSP panel 998 manyinclude a drop-down list for selecting an administration account. The UI990 may include a password panel 901, which may include controls (e.g.,fields and a button) for specifying and/or updating a password for auser account. A deletion panel 903 may include a control (e.g., button)for deleting a user account. In some configurations, the UI 990 mayinclude a control 994 (e.g., button) for editing user permissions and/ora control 992 (e.g., back button) for navigation. For instance,activating the control 994 may switch to and/or open the UI 882described in connection with FIG. 8 for updating or editing userpermissions in some examples.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI 1000 of a printingmanager instance. The UI 1000 may be presented by a computing device(e.g., computing device 102, remote computing device 104). For example,the UI 1000 may be presented and/or accessed via a website and/or anAPI. For instance, the UI 1000 is depicted as being accessed within aweb browser in FIG. 10 .

In this example, a drivers/profiles tab 1005 is selected, which shows aninterface for adding or updating drivers for a particular printer (i.e.,selected printer A). As illustrated, the tab 1005 allows specifyingprinter drivers corresponding to various computing device operatingsystems (OSes). Profile drop-down lists are also shown. As describedabove, the client printing system operator 113 may provide integratedaccess to multiple printing manager instances. For example, the clientprinting system operator 113 may enable single-click log in and/orautomatic log in to multiple printing manager instances. FIG. 10illustrates some of the functions that may be accessible via a printingmanger instance. For example, the UI 1000 may include controls 1007 forcreating, moving, copying, and/or deleting nodes in a data structure1038. In some configurations, the data structure 1038 illustrated inFIG. 10 may be filtered according to user permissions. For example, onlynodes may be presented for which a user has permission to access. Insome examples, user permission controls may avoid users accessing otherforbidden nodes (e.g., nodes corresponding to a separate client printingsystem). In some examples, user permissions may allow a user (e.g.,service provider) to access nodes for multiple client printing systems.Accordingly, the client printing system operator 113 may enableaccessing and/or modifying multiple printing manager instances in anintegrated manner.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a website1111. The website 1111 may be an example of the website 111 described inconnection with FIG. 1 . As illustrated in FIG. 11 , the website 1111may provide one or more user interfaces 1109 for interacting with acomputing device configured to operate multiple client printing systems.Examples of the user interface(s) 1109 that may be provided by thewebsite 1111 are given in connection with FIGS. 3-10 . In someconfigurations, the website 1111 may be hosted by a computing device102. The website 1111 may be accessible via the network(s) 108. Thewebsite 1111 may display one or more webpages and/or dialog boxes. Aservice provider may access the website 1111 to enter information andobserve presented information.

FIG. 12 illustrates various components that may be utilized in anelectronic device 1213. The electronic device 1213 may be configured inaccordance with one or more of the computing devices 102, 104 describedherein.

The electronic device 1213 may include a processor 1231 and memory 1215.The memory 1215 may include instructions 1217 a and data 1219 a. Theprocessor 1231 controls the operation of the computing device and maybe, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signalprocessor (DSP) or other device known in the art. The processor 1231 mayperform logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions1217 b and/or data 1219 b received from the memory 1215.

The electronic device 1213 may include one or more communicationinterfaces 1221 for communicating with other electronic devices. Thecommunication interfaces 1221 may be based on wired communicationtechnology, wireless communication technology or both. Examples ofdifferent types of communication interfaces 1221 include a serial port,a parallel port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB), an Ethernet adapter, anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) bus interface,a small computer system interface (SCSI) bus interface, an infrared (IR)communication port, a Bluetooth wireless communication adapter and soforth.

The electronic device 1213 may include one or more input devices 1223and one or more output devices 1225. Examples of different kinds ofinput devices 1223 include a keyboard, mouse, microphone, remote controldevice, button, joystick, trackball, touchpad, lightpen, etc. Examplesof different kinds of output devices 1225 include a speaker, printer,etc. One specific type of output device 1225 that may be included in acomputer system is a display device 1227. Display devices 1227 used withconfigurations disclosed herein may utilize any suitable imageprojection technology, such as liquid crystal display (LCD),light-emitting diode (LED), gas plasma, electroluminescence, a cathoderay tube (CRT) or the like.

A display controller 1229 may also be provided, for converting data 1219a stored in the memory 1215 into text, graphics and/or moving images (asappropriate) shown on the display device 1227. Of course, FIG. 12illustrates only one possible configuration of an electronic device1213. Various other architectures and components may be utilized.

The term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and,therefore, “determining” can include calculating, computing, processing,deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, adatabase or another data structure), ascertaining and the like. Also,“determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing,and the like.

The phrase “based on” does not mean “based only on,” unless expresslyspecified otherwise. In other words, the phrase “based on” describesboth “based only on” and “based at least on.”

The term “processor” should be interpreted broadly to encompass ageneral purpose processor, a central processing unit (CPU), amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a controller, amicrocontroller, a state machine, and so forth. Under somecircumstances, a “processor” may refer to an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), etc. The term “processor” may refer to acombination of processing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and amicroprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core or any other suchconfiguration.

The term “memory” should be interpreted broadly to encompass anyelectronic component capable of storing electronic information. The termmemory may refer to various types of processor-readable media such asrandom access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile randomaccess memory (NVRAM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM(EEPROM), flash memory, magnetic or optical data storage, registers,etc. Memory is said to be in electronic communication with a processorif the processor can read information from and/or write information tothe memory. Memory that is integral to a processor is in electroniccommunication with the processor.

The terms “instructions” and “code” should be interpreted broadly toinclude any type of computer-readable statement(s). For example, theterms “instructions” and “code” may refer to one or more programs,routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures, etc. “Instructions” and“code” may comprise a single computer-readable statement or manycomputer-readable statements. “Instructions” and/or “code” may beexecutable by a computer or processor to perform one or more functions.

The term “computer-readable medium” refers to any availablenon-transitory tangible medium that can be accessed by a computer orprocessor. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer-readablemedium may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,removable flash drives or any other medium that can be used to carry orstore desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers.

Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a transmissionmedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition oftransmission medium.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the described methods. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isrequired for proper operation of the method that is being described, theorder and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified and/oromitted without departing from the scope of the claims.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes, and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation, anddetails of the systems, methods, and apparatus described herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for operating multiple client printingsystems, comprising: creating an administration account; using aprinting manager instance for each of the multiple client printingsystems, wherein the multiple client printing systems are associatedwith the administration account, and wherein each printing managerinstance manages configuration of printer drivers to utilize printingcloud software for a single client printing system; determining licenseusage data for the multiple client printing systems based on theprinting manager instances; and sending a bill automatically based onthe license usage data.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:presenting a data structure comprising an object associated with each ofthe multiple client printing systems; and determining one or morefolders for the data structure, wherein each of the one or more foldersincludes one or more of the objects associated with one or more of themultiple client printing systems.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising determining user permissions, comprising granting orrestricting access to at least one of the objects or one or more foldersfor a user account.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sharingsettings or resources across multiple printing manager instances.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising sharing printer drivers andprinter profiles across a plurality of the multiple client printingsystems.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a globalprinting manager instance configuration and applying the global printingmanager instance configuration to a plurality of the printing managerinstances.
 7. A computing device for operating multiple client printingsystems, comprising: a processor; memory in electronic communicationwith the processor; and instructions stored in the memory, wherein theinstructions are executable to: create an administration account; use aprinting manager instance for each of the multiple client printingsystems, wherein the multiple client printing systems are associatedwith the administration account, and wherein each printing managerinstance manages configuration of printer drivers to utilize printingcloud software for a single client printing system; determine licenseusage data for the multiple client printing systems based on theprinting manager instances; and send a bill automatically based on thelicense usage data.
 8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein theinstructions are executable to determine a number of installed printersfor each of the multiple client printing systems.
 9. The computingdevice of claim 7, wherein the instructions are executable to: present adata structure comprising an object associated with each of the multipleclient printing systems; and determine one or more folders for the datastructure, wherein each of the one or more folders includes one or moreof the objects associated with one or more of the multiple clientprinting systems.
 10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein theinstructions are executable to determine user permissions and to grantor restrict access to at least one of the objects or one or more foldersfor a user account.
 11. The computing device of claim 7, wherein theinstructions are executable to share settings or resources acrossmultiple printing manager instances.
 12. The computing device of claim7, wherein the instructions are executable to share printer drivers andprinter profiles across a plurality of the multiple client printingsystems.
 13. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the instructionsare executable to set a global printing manager instance configurationand to apply the global printing manager instance configuration to aplurality of the printing manager instances.
 14. A non-transitorytangible computer-readable medium storing computer executable code,comprising: code for causing a computing device to create anadministration account for operating multiple client printing systems;code for causing a computing device to use a printing manager instancefor each of the multiple client printing systems, wherein each printingmanager instance manages configuration of printer drivers to utilizeprinting cloud software for a single client printing system; code forcausing a computing device to determine license usage data for themultiple client printing systems based on the printing managerinstances; and code for causing a computing device to send a billautomatically based on the license usage data.